Milwaukee, WI – Driver of the No. 99 JCR Motorsports Kenda Tire / RecStuff.com Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 Jeff Courtney is looking forward to racing at Utah Motorsports Campus after a rough weekend at Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course that contained many events. Racing, however, was not one of them.

Returning to competition fresh off a season-best second place finish in GTS Round 12 at JCR Motorsports home track Road America, Courtney was feeling good about his chances to put his Maserati up front at Mid-Ohio. What was supposed to be a double race weekend was cut down to just a single event as lightning in the area caused officials to postpone Friday’s race until the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Friday’s qualifying times would still be used for Saturday’s race, so Courtney was set to roll from fourth position. The race ended as quickly as it began for Courtney, the No. 99 was hit and the damage forced the team to retire before he even reached the first turn. “The team did a great job giving me a really good car, unfortunately we did not have a chance to prove it! Although it was a bitter pill to have all this potential and the support of some great folks from Kenda here at Mid-Ohio and it ended within 50 yards of racing! We just need to focus forward on car repairs and our races next week in Utah” said Courtney.

On the bright side, Kenda and JCR Motorsports supported Maria’s Message at Mid-Ohio to raise awareness and promote the local organization that teaches safe driving techniques not often found in typical drivers’ education courses. Maria’s Message was founded after 10TV sports anchor Dom Tiberi and his family lost their 21-year-old daughter, Maria, in a distracted driving incident.

Watch The Video Here: https://youtu.be/K4jDccpcBEU

Maria’s Message utilizes instructors from the Mid-Ohio School to teach students how to properly execute emergency brake changes, wet pavement braking and skid car drills. Courtney and JCR Motorsports brought their Maserati to a Maria’s Message event so teens could get an up-close and personal look at the car and hear driving tips from Courtney himself. “I really enjoyed meeting Dom and being involved in such a great cause! And it is awesome of the instructors from the Mid-Ohio school for donating their time” said Courtney

The next stop for JCR Motorsports is Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, UT for Rounds 14 and 15 of the Pirelli World Challenge GTS Championship August 12-15. The 24-turn, 4.5 mile road course will be challenging for the Maserati that loves long straightaways but the JCR Motorsports team is up to the task. Find more information at www.world-challenge.com.